On the occasion of welcoming the centenary of the founding of the party, the Shandong Academy of Painting specially launched the "100 Years of Glory in Qilu Danqing - Shandong Painting Academy Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China 100Thirty Classic Works Online Exhibition", and on the official website of the Shandong Painting Academy and the WeChat public account, the famous painters in our province have successively launched 100 issues of the theme of the famous painters in our province depicting the glorious course of the centenary of the founding of the party and the vicissitudes of the motherland in the past century, showing the painters' style of recording the new era, writing the new era, and praising the new era with Hanmo Huacai. These works spanning half a century not only show the glorious course of the party and the glorious chapter of the construction of new China, but also show the development process of Chinese painting in Shandong and the moving style of the artist's works. (Shandong Academy of Painting)
"The Sky of History" Li Yan
One of the parts of "The Sky of History"
Part II of "The Sky of History"
Part III of "The Sky of History"
Part IV of "The Sky of History"
Part V of "The Sky of History"
Creative insights of "The Sky of History"
This year is the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and I believe that every artist with experience in the creation of themes will not miss such an important historical moment. A long time ago, I began to consider what to use to express my commemoration and celebration of the grand moment of the centennial birthday, and I have produced many ideas, but I have also been overthrown by myself, and there is always no picture that can most impress me. As the centenary of the founding of the party in the province was approaching, when I was squeezed by the countdown, I could not stop writing, so I began to hurry up, which was also a late gathering. But when the big draft is good, there is no wave in the heart, in the face of such a decent theme creation, how can not mention the impulse to continue to paint, that is, at this time, the deepest picture of the heart appears again, this is a picture that has been silent in the heart for ten years, I have not dared to touch, maybe just want to wait for a suitable time, maybe just waiting for the day when I can better express itself. In the past ten years, I have wanted to paint countless times, but I have blocked it for various reasons, afraid that the painting will not be good, afraid of ruining this picture that moves me. But at this moment, I thought I couldn't wait any longer, so I withdrew the big manuscript that had been drawn, and with uneasy but excited brushstrokes, I began to create this painting...
"Dimmed the shadow of the sword and light, far away from the drum horns to argue ..." The names of the martyrs were engraved on the wall of the monument, and the old soldiers gazed affectionately at these brothers who had fought side by side, comrades in arms who were dependent on each other for life and death, and decades had passed, when these names gradually faded with the smoke of gunfire and were slowly forgotten by future generations, in the hearts of the old soldiers, in the hearts of many descendants who inherited the legacy of the revolution, they were still alive, like a monument standing in the hearts of everyone.
That year, Grandpa had just passed away, and he slept peacefully with many old comrades in the Veterans Memorial Square. Whenever I see the ordinary and great names on the wall of the monument in the square that make me awe-inspiring, my heart always stirs. As time went on, the picture became clearer in my mind. Every name is a real martyr and heroic warrior, this year is the centenary of the founding of the party, the older generation of gratitude and reverence is also getting stronger, so I want to tell them: "Please rest assured, we will never forget!" ”
When conceiving this work, the original idea was to present these names one by one, and take the form of a monument wall, so that everyone has a visual impact of standing in front of the monument. The process of creation this time is very fast, in fact, this is an emotional brewing for too long pouring, but also a double fatigue and torture of the body and mind: standing for many hours a day, shoulder and back pain; every day in the face of these names, the inner turmoil, which supports myself to stick to is a simple touch, the biggest feeling of this painting to me is that from the beginning of the idea to the final completion, the initial touch throughout, without with the adjustment of the technical level and the exhaustion of the body and mind there is a little weakening, for me, Moving yourself is the most important, which is also the premise of resonating with the viewer, for myself, the sense of form and artistry of the work can be ranked second, the first is always the sense of truth revealed in the picture, I do not want to become a painter with exquisite craftsmanship but loss of authenticity.
When the painting was finally presented to me, when the experts were going to review the manuscript the next day, because of the communication problems in the mounting process, there was a situation that almost subverted all my efforts, and what I wanted for this work was to do my best in every detail as much as possible, and I knew that I could not be perfect, nor could I be perfect, but I wanted to do my best. At that moment I almost collapsed and despaired, tears immediately came out of my eyes, at that time both angry and aggrieved, it was a huge sense of frustration and failure, not because I had paid so much but got a pile of waste paper, but because I might not be able to fulfill my promise to those heroes from the heart, I wanted their names to be read by everyone again, I wanted everyone to miss them again. In the end, it is still thanks to the efforts of the mounting master to save it, so that this painting can finally meet with everyone.
Under the illumination of the museum's spotlight, almost all the audience is carefully staring at the names, and many people reach out to touch the names, and I think this painting is also the work that worries the staff of the museum the most. What touched me the most was my friend's grandparents, who deliberately wore their medals to take a group photo in front of the painting, maybe there were their youth past and memories, at that moment, my heart was happy. Of course, this painting also left a lot of regrets, sorry that I still didn't paint well, so until this painting entered the Shandong Art Museum and was about to be on the wall, I was still constantly revising. Every painting I have finished I have painted does not want to look at it again, nor do I dare to let others see it, because I can always see the parts that disappoint me that I have not handled well, so each of my paintings is flawed for myself, which is also the motivation for me to keep moving forward.
This painting is finished, but there are still many things that have just begun, I don't know how many paintings can be painted in this life, I don't know if these paintings can be remembered by the world in ten years and a hundred years, at least this one painting has realized a small wish of myself. "You can't take away the years, that string of familiar names..." Your names will shine like stars in the sky of history! (Li Yan)
Painter Profile
Li Yan, Master of Fine Arts of PLA Academy of Arts, member of China Artists Association, member of the presidium of Shandong Artists Association, director of exhibition training department, chairman of Shandong Young Artists Association.